Curator's Picks: Kathleen Plate

Kathleen Plate grew up in Washington and began learning about stained glass when she was a young girl. She observed the art of cutting and soldering the glass from her crafts-enthusiast mother in the 1970s and brings those early skills to her designs today. Her hobby led her to start creating pieces in her spare time, which she began selling to local stores in the mid-1990s. The jewelry sold so well that Kathleen decided to put her graduate work in American Literature on hold and sell her handcrafted jewelry and accessories nationally; today, her Smart Glass is sold in more than five hundred stores nationwide.

Using a combination of vibrantly colored stained glass, silver solder, and sterling silver, Kathleen makes each piece by hand. So, while Smart Glass styles are simple and easy to wear and use, each piece is also a unique work of handcrafted art. Kathleen designs all Smart Glass items and either makes or directly supervises the assembly of each piece, assuring optimal product quality.